


A City Alive

by lasergirl



Series: Power Generation [4]
Category: CSI: NY
Genre: AU, Power Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-02
Updated: 2010-04-02
Packaged: 2017-10-08 15:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasergirl/pseuds/lasergirl





	A City Alive

_**CSI NY: A City Alive**_  
**Title:** A City Alive  
**Fandom:** CSI NY (Power Generation 'verse)  
**Rating:** General (could be a little slashy)  
**Notes:** Spoilers for S2 season finale. I think the question is here: is Danny more concerned about Flack's well-being, or about Mac's attention to him? Or is Danny wrestling with feelings of his own that he's trying to disguise behind righteous indignation? Oh, subtext.  
**Additional Explanations:** PGverse is an AU in which some of the characters have super-human powers. Mac is a cooler, Danny a firebrand, and Flack is an electro-magnetic. For more, see [](http://community.livejournal.com/powergeneration/profile)[**powergeneration**](http://community.livejournal.com/powergeneration/).

Danny scoops the Sunday edition of the New York Times as he leaves the hospital, and heads... he doesn't know where. An hour later, he's still sitting at the curbside, fastidiously crumpling each sheet into a ball before setting it alight.

"Something bothering you, Danny?" How does Mac know where to be all the time? Danny doesn't look up. He shrugs, twists K 18 into a ball and pokes a finger at it. Obediently, it flickers into flame.

"He's in recovery now. The doctors are hopeful."

'Hopeful' is not the same as 'optimistic' and Danny knows that. He scowls and sets fire to the next ball of paper. The headlines burn and crackle into ash. Mac sits down beside him with a sigh, the way snow settles on trees: gentle, quiet.

"They get all the shrapnel outta him?" Danny doesn't look up. He knows the concern is mirrored in Mac's eyes and somehow, sharing that confession seems a little too personal, even for times like this.

"They did." Mac reached for the J section of the paper. "Mind if I-?"

"Be my guest," Danny shrugs. Mac crumples up the next ball and sets it on the pavement at their feet. All it takes is one prod from his finger and Danny lights it.

Mac says, "They're doing all they can, you know. You can't ask for more."

"I know." There's a pause. Then all the things Danny's been trying not to say just spill out of his mouth. "Christ, Mac, they treated him like a goddamn leper! One look at that bracelet he's got on and they shot him full of dope! Just 'cause he's a power and he's got to wear a nametag! Just like that, boom! They gave him that injection before they took his pulse!"

Mac nods and crumples up another ball between his hands. His knuckles are scraped raw and there are cuts and scratches on his forearms. "So that's what's bothering you."

"No," Danny twitches. Finally, he looks at over Mac and can't help it. "Yeah. So what? What gives them the right?"

"The Powers Act Ratification, 1998," says Mac matter-of-factly, quoting the paragraph verbatim. "Unmedicated Powers: In such instances as emergency medical treatment, where the subject is unconscious or otherwise not in control of their abilities and faculties, the State shall be authorized to administer suppressant medication as necessary for their treatment, until such time as the subject is able to regain their control."

"Could they do that... to me?" Danny sounds small then, young and scared after the brash front drops so suddenly. "To you? To any of us?"

"I hope it never comes to that," Mac pats Danny's shoulder, and the chill of his hand is actually a little comforting. "I would never endanger a hospital the way you or Don could."

"I would never burn down a hospital!" Danny sulks, "I'm not a terrorist."

"If you'd been in the same position today, you wouldn't have had the choice," Mac reminds him. "If you were barely conscious, wounded, confused, you might have done something you regretted. If you can do this so easily-" he guestures at the grey wisps of ash that are all that remains of sections A through K "- you could have been a danger to the EMS. And Flack, well."

"He coulda had blackouts, or stopped computers, and whatever else, yeah." Danny sounds defeated, as if he'd been expecting somehow to win the argument, even though he knew it was impossible. "It just isn't fair, I mean, they doctors even said they didn't know how bad he was hurt. What if they kill him with that stuff?"

Mac, who knew more than he ever wanted to about medication, just shook his head. "I don't have an answer for you, Danny. There's a whole hospital of people - a whole city - trying to stay alive, and one man could stop it, just like that." He snapped his fingers and a tiny feather of frost puffed into the air.

Danny bent down and lit the paper ball at their feet. It crackled and danced, the edges rapidly going black, then falling away. Soon it was nothing more than ash. Danny bent down and blew away the remains, and they drifted off like ghosts. He looked back at Mac and his eyes were wet.

"Just like that."

THE END.  


Questions? Comments? Feedback always appreciated.


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